The weather was strangely good and the Moll and I were taking a turn around the Botanic Gardens pretending to be West Enders.

Frankly, I was lying low from some of my usual seedier haunts until some heat from an old case died down, and taking Blondie for a look at the tropical plants was as good a cover as any. Why, we looked borderline respectable.

Maybe all the exotic greenery got to her, but suddenly she took a notion for some novelty scran. And where better than Great Western Road, the home of the chi-chi one-off restaurant?

My luck was in – we spotted a place called Wudon and decided to take our chance to go big in Japan.

First impressions were good, tasteful décor with hint of the oriental, but no sense I was going to have to kneel down to eat my dinner.

Our charming waitress shows us to a table and we boggled at the food and drinks menus. OK, confession time, Japanese was a bit of a new one on me and the Moll was the same.

I played safe and had the soup but Toots was ready to go off road and ordered a selection of tempura vegetables.

My soup was a hot and sour treat with little pieces of delicate seafood floating in the broth. I felt smug with my spoon, but my lovely companion had to ‘fess up she couldn’t use chopsticks. To be fair, the staff brought her a knife and fork without a flicker – very classy. And the tempura was divine, whisper light batter coating ultra-fresh veg and some delicious dipping sauce - with quite a kick.

We were offered sides of gigantic prawn crackers and some intriguing hot bean pods with salt and garlic – this was turning out to be quite an adventure.

The Moll stuck to a safe, if enormous, glass of white wine to accompany, but I was getting in the swing now and ordered a Tarty Wu cocktail of vodka, raspberry liqueur, amaretto and with lemonade, delicious. Blondie gave me an old-fashioned look – maybe she thinks cocktails don’t go with my hard-boiled image.

Mains arrived and my King Prawn noodle dish was lovely, lots of crunchy veg and massive prawns in a sweet-sour sauce, but very filling. I could hardly shift half of it. The Moll’s attempt at healthy eating turned out to be a showstopper of a salad, a vast bowl of leaves with mango, peanuts and a light dressing.

That girl’s no fool – delicious as it was, it left room for dessert and she eyed up the Coco Banana platter. Still full of noodles, I feebly ordered a scoop each of red bean and vanilla ice cream, which were a revelation – if you think red bean sounds weird, think again, it was a delicate and fragrant delight.

We still had one novelty left, as the Moll ordered herself a green tea. But it was no ordinary tea – though it looked underwhelming enough when a glass mug with a grassy knot dangling in it arrived.

But in seconds, the hot water had worked its magic and the teabag unfurled into a beautiful pink and white chrysanthemum blossom – ‘It’s almost a shame to drink it, Tec’ whispered Blondie, though she managed it all the same.

Time for the bill, and though Wudon isn’t exactly cheap, it is great value for some very special food and drink, a magical taste of the East out in the West.

Wudon, 535 Great Western Road, G12 8HN Tel 0141 357 3033

Food 4 atmos 4 service 4

Starters

Seafood Tom Yum Soup £5

Saw Choi Tempura £5

Sides

Prawn Crackers £3

Edamame Beans £3.50

Wok Fried Udon Noodles £4

Mains

King Prawn Kimchi Udon £10

Mango Gone Nuts salad £8.50

Desserts

Red Bean and Vanilla ice cream £3.50

Coco Banana £5.50

Drinks

Tarty Wu Cocktail £8.50

Sauvignon Blanc £6.20

Dragon Blossom Tea £3.50

Total £66.20